The Interior Department on Thursday announced that it aims to open up millions of acres of near-pristine land in Alaska to oil drilling and allow for a new pipeline to be built across the state.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the department would allow oil and gas leases on 82 percent of the 23 million-acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, overturning protections that President Joe Biden finalized last year, and will reinstate a program to permit drilling in the 1.56 million-acre Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the country’s largest preserve of its kind.
Ask your climate questions. With the help of generative Al, we'll try to deliver answers based on our published reporting.
The department also will work to transfer federal land to the state to help construct a pipeline to transport liquefied natural gas for export to Asia and a road that is critical in operating a planned copper and zinc mine in northern Alaska. Nearly a year ago Biden administration officials blocked the land transfer for Ambler Road, which was slated to traverse Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, on grounds that it would harm the region’s Indigenous communities and wildlife habitat.
Politicians have wrangled for decades over developing Alaska, which boasts massive reserves of fossil fuels and minerals but also the largest areas of untouched wilderness in the United States. In several cases, Republican presidents have pushed for exploration in these vast expanses, only to have areas restricted under Democrats.
Follow Trump’s first 100 Days
“It’s time for the U.S. to embrace Alaska’s abundant and largely untapped resources as a pathway to prosperity for the nation, including Alaskans,” Burgum said in a statement. “For far too long, the federal government has created too many barriers to capitalizing on the state’s energy potential.”
On taking office Jan. 20, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that signaled his goal of reversing Biden and “unleashing Alaska’s extraordinary energy potential.” Interior officials said these policy changes marked the first steps to implement that directive.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the department would allow oil and gas leases on 82 percent of the 23 million-acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, overturning protections that President Joe Biden finalized last year, and will reinstate a program to permit drilling in the 1.56 million-acre Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the country’s largest preserve of its kind.
Ask your climate questions. With the help of generative Al, we'll try to deliver answers based on our published reporting.
The department also will work to transfer federal land to the state to help construct a pipeline to transport liquefied natural gas for export to Asia and a road that is critical in operating a planned copper and zinc mine in northern Alaska. Nearly a year ago Biden administration officials blocked the land transfer for Ambler Road, which was slated to traverse Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, on grounds that it would harm the region’s Indigenous communities and wildlife habitat.
Politicians have wrangled for decades over developing Alaska, which boasts massive reserves of fossil fuels and minerals but also the largest areas of untouched wilderness in the United States. In several cases, Republican presidents have pushed for exploration in these vast expanses, only to have areas restricted under Democrats.
Follow Trump’s first 100 Days
“It’s time for the U.S. to embrace Alaska’s abundant and largely untapped resources as a pathway to prosperity for the nation, including Alaskans,” Burgum said in a statement. “For far too long, the federal government has created too many barriers to capitalizing on the state’s energy potential.”
On taking office Jan. 20, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that signaled his goal of reversing Biden and “unleashing Alaska’s extraordinary energy potential.” Interior officials said these policy changes marked the first steps to implement that directive.
